Security Bank hires Slagle as new senior lender
Slagle
January 2, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Security Bank, a long-time fixture of Barry County, recently underwent a change in leadership in the lending department. Jeff Parsons, former senior lender for the bank, retired earlier this year. Taking over the reigns of the senior lender position is Steve Slagle.
“My dad was a banker for 50 years,” said Slagle. “I didn’t know I wanted to be one too until I sowed my wild oats and got it out of my system.”
Slagle was, until recently, a resident of Cortez, Colorado. Colorado was a place that Slagle called home for much of his life.
“I was born in northeast Colorado and grew up in Holy Oak, a little farming community near the Nebraska border,” said Slagle.
After a happy childhood in the sleepy farmlands of Colorado, Slagle, now a family man, made the decision to find his calling elsewhere.
“I did about 15 years in Wyoming,” said Slagle. “That’s where I got into banking. I loved Wyoming, but it was a little too cold for my wife, who grew up in north Texas.
“We moved to Arizona for about a year. Then, we made the move to Cortez, where we stayed for about ten years.”
Slagle has a lengthy list of skills which made him a good fit for his position and the Barry County community.
“I worked for three different banks in Cortez. I was the market president for two of them.
“About 50 percent of my portfolio there was agricultural lending.”
Slagle has noted some differences between his former post and his work in Barry County but expressed optimism in regard to the difference in method.
“Here we do a little of everything. We wear a lot of hats,” said Slagle. “We don’t have a specific department for consumer loans and bigger, commercial-type loans. We do it all and that works really well.
“Say a guy comes in that banks with us and has three or four head of cattle and wants to buy a pickup. Where I was at, I’d have to send them over to someone in the consumer department. Here, I can handle his whole entity. It’s all very hands-on.”
It’s not just the method that sold Slagle on working for Security Bank. The philosophy of their methods was a big selling point.
“Working here reminds me of my Wyoming days,” said Slagle. “The way they run things here is very logical. Jon Horner, the bank president, is great.
“His and Gary’s [Fields] philosophy is that the bank isn’t so motivated by profits. The good of the community enters in to it, as well. That’s refreshing. Everyone’s welfare is taken in to account.”
“Steve, to me, is a perfect fit for coming to our bank and our community,” said Jon Horner, Security Bank president. “He has a great background in agricultural and business banking as well as being active in the community he came from. He has great respect from his coworkers as well as the banking community. His personality is a great fit for our community, I believe.”
Slagle didn’t come to the area on accident. His move to Missouri was calculated and planned well in advance and his recruitment to Security Bank was well vetted.
“In the banking world, there’s financial recruiters. I picked an area and told mine that that’s where I’d like to move.
“My wife lived in Missouri once before. Her and her mom came through last summer. She told me that if something ever came open in Missouri, she’d really like to move there. So, we told the recruiter and they put a deal together for us.”
Slagle came to the area to meet with senior management at Security and was taken with the area.
“We came out to visit and it seemed like a great fit,” said Slagle.
The decision to move to the area wasn’t just based on the Slagle family’s love for the area. Slagle cited the changing lifestyle in Colorado as one of his primary reasons for relocating.
“Colorado is changing,” said Slagle. “It’s a transient area. The prices in Colorado, with so many people wanting to move in and buying homes for more than they’re worth, doesn’t really fit the living wage of the people there.”
Slagle has found the area to be amenable to his way of life.
“Life here is slower paced, which suits me just fine,” said Slagle. “It’s not as transient of a community. I’m surprised by the number of people who were born here that stayed because they knew what they had.”
Slagle also stated that he’s settling into the area well and enjoying the change in weather.
“It’s a very pretty place,” said Slagle. “There’s so many trees and a lot of moisture. Every place I’ve ever lived has been so arid.”
Slagle has settled in to the area well and continues to serve as the Senior Lender at Security Bank.
Vinnie Roberts
Security Bank, a long-time fixture of Barry County, recently underwent a change in leadership in the lending department. Jeff Parsons, former senior lender for the bank, retired earlier this year. Taking over the reigns of the senior lender position is Steve Slagle.
“My dad was a banker for 50 years,” said Slagle. “I didn’t know I wanted to be one too until I sowed my wild oats and got it out of my system.”
Slagle was, until recently, a resident of Cortez, Colorado. Colorado was a place that Slagle called home for much of his life.
“I was born in northeast Colorado and grew up in Holy Oak, a little farming community near the Nebraska border,” said Slagle.
After a happy childhood in the sleepy farmlands of Colorado, Slagle, now a family man, made the decision to find his calling elsewhere.
“I did about 15 years in Wyoming,” said Slagle. “That’s where I got into banking. I loved Wyoming, but it was a little too cold for my wife, who grew up in north Texas.
“We moved to Arizona for about a year. Then, we made the move to Cortez, where we stayed for about ten years.”
Slagle has a lengthy list of skills which made him a good fit for his position and the Barry County community.
“I worked for three different banks in Cortez. I was the market president for two of them.
“About 50 percent of my portfolio there was agricultural lending.”
Slagle has noted some differences between his former post and his work in Barry County but expressed optimism in regard to the difference in method.
“Here we do a little of everything. We wear a lot of hats,” said Slagle. “We don’t have a specific department for consumer loans and bigger, commercial-type loans. We do it all and that works really well.
“Say a guy comes in that banks with us and has three or four head of cattle and wants to buy a pickup. Where I was at, I’d have to send them over to someone in the consumer department. Here, I can handle his whole entity. It’s all very hands-on.”
It’s not just the method that sold Slagle on working for Security Bank. The philosophy of their methods was a big selling point.
“Working here reminds me of my Wyoming days,” said Slagle. “The way they run things here is very logical. Jon Horner, the bank president, is great.
“His and Gary’s [Fields] philosophy is that the bank isn’t so motivated by profits. The good of the community enters in to it, as well. That’s refreshing. Everyone’s welfare is taken in to account.”
“Steve, to me, is a perfect fit for coming to our bank and our community,” said Jon Horner, Security Bank president. “He has a great background in agricultural and business banking as well as being active in the community he came from. He has great respect from his coworkers as well as the banking community. His personality is a great fit for our community, I believe.”
Slagle didn’t come to the area on accident. His move to Missouri was calculated and planned well in advance and his recruitment to Security Bank was well vetted.
“In the banking world, there’s financial recruiters. I picked an area and told mine that that’s where I’d like to move.
“My wife lived in Missouri once before. Her and her mom came through last summer. She told me that if something ever came open in Missouri, she’d really like to move there. So, we told the recruiter and they put a deal together for us.”
Slagle came to the area to meet with senior management at Security and was taken with the area.
“We came out to visit and it seemed like a great fit,” said Slagle.
The decision to move to the area wasn’t just based on the Slagle family’s love for the area. Slagle cited the changing lifestyle in Colorado as one of his primary reasons for relocating.
“Colorado is changing,” said Slagle. “It’s a transient area. The prices in Colorado, with so many people wanting to move in and buying homes for more than they’re worth, doesn’t really fit the living wage of the people there.”
Slagle has found the area to be amenable to his way of life.
“Life here is slower paced, which suits me just fine,” said Slagle. “It’s not as transient of a community. I’m surprised by the number of people who were born here that stayed because they knew what they had.”
Slagle also stated that he’s settling into the area well and enjoying the change in weather.
“It’s a very pretty place,” said Slagle. “There’s so many trees and a lot of moisture. Every place I’ve ever lived has been so arid.”
Slagle has settled in to the area well and continues to serve as the Senior Lender at Security Bank.